Hanley Ramirez homers twice in Red Sox win over Diamondbacks

BOSTON -- Hanley Ramirez had two three-run homers for six RBIs, David Ortiz added a homer and the Boston Red Sox beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-4 in interleague play on Friday night.

Ramirez's performance seemingly shrugged off questions about his back pain that caused him to leave Thursday's game after a collision with New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez.

It was the 20th multi-homer game for Ramirez and a much-needed victory for the Red Sox, who had lost four of five.

Boston scored four runs in each of the first two innings, ending a streak of 14 scoreless innings by the Diamondbacks' starting pitchers.

The Red Sox took advantage of some sloppy defensive play by Arizona, which committed two first-inning errors.

Ortiz had three hits, including his 1,000th extra-base hit with Boston.

It was all the run support needed for David Price (10-8), who struck out eight in eight innings to pick up the win.

Hanley Ramirez had two home runs and six RBIs in the Red Sox's 9-4 victory of the Diamondbacks. It was the 20th multi-homer game for Ramirez and a much-needed victory for the Red Sox. Darren McCollester/Getty Images

However, second baseman Dustin Pedroia left the game due to flu-like symptoms. Pedroia had reached on an error in the first inning and singled in the second, scoring in both frames as the Red Sox built an early 8-2 lead. He was removed from the game prior to the start of the third inning.

Boston has seen several of its top hitters leave games with injury this week.

Ortiz departed Wednesday's tilt after fouling a ball off his shin and Ramirez was an early exit on Thursday night following a collision in the field.

Right fielder Mookie Betts also missed time when calf issues forced him out of Wednesday's game against the New York Yankees and caused him to miss the next contest. He returned the line up on Friday.

Red Sox manager John Farrell indicated that there is a fluid build-up in Betts' knee and that managing the pain will be a season-long exercise.

"As [the fluid] increases, we're going to have to back off, if it does increase," Farrell said. "All the imaging that's been done, it's not because of structural damage or injury that's caused that, so we're having to monitor closely."

In other injury news, the Red Sox hope to have right-hander Steven Wright return to the rotation next week in Detroit, Farrell announced Friday.

Wright was scratched from his scheduled start Thursday night against the New York Yankees because of shoulder pain.

The All-Star knuckleballer jammed the shoulder diving into second base while pinch running Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, two days after he threw a three-hit shutout. Farrell said Wright threw from 90 feet Friday and has reported "substantial improvement."

"The range of motion has improved, as I said over the last 24 hours, the strength, the symptoms have decreased," Farrell said. "He's not symptom-free, but still there's a marked improvement."

Wright would need to get on the mound for a bullpen session by Monday, in all likelihood, in order to slot back in by Thursday, when the Sox are in Detroit. Clay Buchholz is filling Wright's spot and is the scheduled starter for Saturday's game against Arizona.